Chapter Text
Ryunosuke was tempted to wake early, investigate on his own - but what good would that do? He knew the blackmailer's identity, knew what he wanted, knew what he had. What he didn't have was a way to solve it. No, his best hope was probably Sholmes, and whatever outsizedly violent thing he seemed to have planned for his plagiarist (though it would be perfect, to his mind, for a blackmailer of such a caliber).
He met Sholmes in the market, as planned, just past 1 pm. He'd been tempted, too, to find Sholmes' lodgings and wake him, start him on the case as soon as possible, but that would've been too suspicious. So, instead, he casually strolled over to the detective at the precise time they'd agreed on, trying not to look too anxious or sleep-deprived.
"So, what was your plan for today, again?"
"Oh, Mr. Naruhodo! You look positively dreadful. Anyhow, you'll forgive me for not seeing you sooner, it's dreadfully early."
"... Certainly."
“Though you look as though you hardly slept a wink! Perhaps we should-”
“No, no, I’m fine,” he said, fixing him with a glare.
"Ah, you asked a question - right. I'm looking for a pair of strapping men to aid us in our endeavors today."
He blinked at Sholmes a few times. "I, uh - I don't believe this is that sort of town, Sholmes-"
Sholmes raised an eyebrow at him for a moment, before breaking into a fit of laughter. "Oh! Not for that! My predilections don't lean burly anyways, not like yours."
Perhaps Sholmes was right. It was dreadfully early for this.
"So what are your strapping men for, then?"
Sholmes allowed his laughing fit to peter out before answering. "Hah. Yes. Right. We'll be needing them to properly repay The Seagull ."
"To properly repay… oh." He thought on it a moment, finding himself rather amenable to the idea, somewhat surprisingly. "... Permanently?"
"Well that’s a rather difficult question to answer, really… Permanently, I’ll have to think about that. Oh, did you manage to track down the intended recipient of that letter?"
"I- well,-"
"Oh!" a deep voice behind them began, "is Naruhodo!"
He turned, finding a mountain of Russian sailor behind him. Or, more precisely, two mountains of Russian sailor. "Mr. Stroganov!" he said, surprised.
Bif gave a big friendly smile, while the other waved, looking a bit confused.
"Oh, da, you two have not met! Tchikin, this is little wardrobe stowaway, Naruhodo. His partner is staying -"
"Far off, since he's ill!" Ryunosuke quickly interrupted, sticking a hand out for the customary English handshake. "Sorry that you won't get to meet him because of that."
He got his hand crushed in the second sailor's enthusiastic handshake, but it was worth it to keep Sholmes in the dark.
Tchikin, having greeted him, turned to his compatriot - and his look soured somewhat. "I see he keeps bad company."
"Gentlemen!" Sholmes said, bowing with a flourish. "It's been too long."
"What, brother? Detective here solved wardrobe case for Mr. Naruhodo here!"
"And nearly had me keelhauled by captain for fake emergency stop," Tchikin said with a scowl.
"All for the greater good, I assure you!" Sholmes quickly explained, "I was aiding dear Naruhodo and his partner at the time."
Tchikin still looked skeptical, but seemed a bit more willing to let bygones be bygones.
"So," Ryunosuke said, opting not to let the man dwell. "What are you two in town for?"
Bif shifted his eyes to him, suspicious, but responded with a neutral, "to see family."
Sholmes piped up again. "Would you gentlemen like to make a bit of money while you're here?"
The suspicious look moved to Sholmes.
"We've need of a few strong extra hands to… properly repay a debt."
Bif rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as he did so. "We are sailors, not mercenaries. No."
Sholmes deflated a bit. "Ah, too bad. I suppose we'll let you get on your way, then." He turned, about to leave, before seemingly remembering something. "Oh, before you go, gentlemen - you said you had family in the area?"
"Da."
"Then perhaps you could tell us whose address this is! I feel it would be best if we found them before dealing with our primary problem. Blackmail, would you believe!" He pulled out a notebook where he'd written the address, showing the two sailors.
"That's little angel's house!" Tchikin burst out, turning to his brother.
Ryunosuke grit his teeth. He hadn't said it was where Kazuma was staying, it was fine…
Bif gave his brother a scolding look, but was quickly interrupted by Sholmes. " Really ! Naruhodo, you don't think this girl is the pregnant blackmailee, do you?"
Bif interrupted, suddenly looming. "Kotyata would not be so foolish. Cannot be."
Sholmes quirked a (rather inadvisable, in his opinion) smile at the two sailors. "I hate to say it, gentlemen, I really do, but - would she have told you? Blackmail gains its particular color from its secrecy, no?"
The two sailors looked extra frightening, of a sudden, with that bit of information hanging in the air.
"N-no! I'm sure that's not it," Ryunosuke added quickly.
Sholmes shrugged, but pulled the poetry scraps from a different pocket of his coat. "Well, gentlemen, you might be interested to read these!"
The two Russians started to read, though it seemed to be slow going, owing to the language barrier and the flowery nature of the writing. Bif spoke first, having gotten through a couple of pages. "Is… love poetry, da?"
"Just so! And then, a blackmail letter sent to the address of the woman he seems to be writing to… awful, simply awful!"
"You keep saying blackmail - you have letter?"
Sholmes looked at him expectantly. His first thought was to make an excuse - he'd left it in his lodgings, sorry! - but that was pointless. Sholmes probably remembered the basic contents, and besides, the sailors already knew of Kazuma to some degree, or would know sooner than later. He pulled the letter from his pocket, handing it over to Bif. The two Russians once again turned to reading, heads close together to see it.
Both the sailors' eyes widened as they read, and Bif looked at him over the letter. He put a hand to his chest, trying to convey who the blackmailer was talking about. He just hoped it came through.
"Hmph," Bif said, standing up straighter and returning the letter. "Perhaps we help after all."
"Truly?" Sholmes asked, brightening. "Wonderful! That makes things much easier."
"What is plan?"
"Well, gentlemen, since you seem to have a dog in the fight, as it were, I'm happy to take suggestions. However, I did have a few ideas…"
Sholmes held forth as he led them back to (as he continued to call him) The Seagull's home. (His nest, he'd suggested, but Sholmes seemed determined to call it his den, despite the fact that seagulls no more made dens than wolves used cliffside nests.) The two brothers only seemed to be half-listening… knowing what Bif had done to protect Nikolina previously, he wondered at what the brothers seemed to be in silent agreement over. Still, he was surprised at how little he really cared what their plan was. Sholmes seemed to be landing largely on the side of simply beating him, while he imagined the sailors had plans to go further, and… well. Perhaps his mind had simply decided on a utilitarian approach. Either would free them from the blackmailer's threats.
…. Right?
They were nearly on the man's doorstep when he thought of it. This man, Mr. Corney - he was in a relationship with Ms. Pavlova. Surely he'd tell her if he received an unexpected beating from a few Russian sailors, an odd Englishman, and a Japanese man, none of which he'd ever met. Ms. Pavlova would certainly recognize the description of the sailors - and simply by dint of his nationality, he himself would likely be a dead giveaway. Corney would release his blackmail to the presses, or whatever he planned to do, and that would be that.
He came to a standstill, and the others soon noticed his absence.
"Naruhodo?" Sholmes asked, leaning around one of the Stroganovs.
"He'll surely tell someone."
"What?"
"He'll tell someone that he was beaten up, and then he'll release the blackmail material, and-"
He stopped, as Bif and Tchikin began to laugh, the sound booming from their chests.
"Huh?"
"Little Naruhodo, don't worry so much!" Bif said, still chuckling to himself.
"But, I'm certain-"
"He won't tell anyone anything. Not where he's going!" Tchikin added, laughing again afterwards.
"... Ah," he said. Bif clapped him on the back, knocking the air out of him.
"Is no problem, see? He disappears, problem disappears!"
As he pondered that little ethical dilemma, the rest carried on to the blackmailer in question's doorstep, a few hundred feet away.
He caught up as Sholmes knocked on the door, quickly stepping aside once an unsuspecting Corney opened the door.
The ensuing scuffle was a brief affair, the stick-like man quickly overwhelmed by the two massive sailors. Surprisingly, at least to him, they quickly knocked him unconscious. He supposed they might not want to hurt him… or, better put, might not want to hurt him until later. Bif slung him over his shoulder, and added his sailor's cap to the unconscious man.
"Looks less suspicious. Is crewmate now, da?" Bif added by way of explanation.
"Uh… da," he said.
Bif nodded, then headed back towards the docks with his hostage in tow.
He sighed, watching the Russian leave. "Disappearing" the blackmailer still felt… not quite right, but what else was there to do?
Tchikin patted him on the back. "Will be all right now."
"I… suppose. Someone will need to tell Ms. Pavlova about all of this, though."
Tchikin grimaced. "Do we?"
"More suspicious otherwise, no?"
The sailor looked put-upon, but nodded after a moment's consideration. "Da. We must tell her."
He felt he'd just been looped into said explanation, but that seemed like a pittance in comparison to solving the blackmailer for he and Kazuma.
Sholmes cleared his throat. "Well! That was exciting. However, with our nemesis The Seagull dispatched, I believe it's time for me to return to London."
He grit his teeth. He'd almost accused Sholmes of running off and leaving him with the clean up - but no, it was best if he left sooner rather than later, and they would be going to the very house Kazuma was staying in to tell Ms. Pavlova of her suitor's fate. "Ah, of course. I'll see you back in 221B in a few days, Sholmes."
Sholmes tipped his hat with a flourish before turning on his heel, back to the main body of the village.
Once he was out of earshot, Ryunosuke breathed a sigh of relief.
Tchikin, the silent mountain beside him, raised an eyebrow at him. "Something wrong?"
"Yes and no, Mr. Stroganov, yes and no." He started walking towards the hill Ms. Pavlova's house sat on. "I don't know how much your brother has told you. I believe you know some of Mr. Asogi's… condition?" he asked, keeping his voice low.
"What part?"
"What?"
Tchikin shrugged his massive shoulders. "Some think you and he together is 'condition'."
"... Ah."
"Still do just as fine work, so I don't understand it."
"...right. That wasn't what I was referring to, however."
"Oh, you mean that he is, eh, not like most men."
He laughed. "In so, so many ways. But yes, that, I suppose. Uh, due to that, he's… well, he's with child."
Tchikin seemed to be piecing together the rather oblique language for a moment, before giving a smile and thumping him on the back again. "Congratulations!"
He found himself blushing, grinning like an idiot. This was so odd, keeping Sholmes and Iris in the dark while telling this… random Russian sailor whose brother had once tried to frame him for the murder of his husband. But it was necessary he know now, whereas Kazuma seemed content to leave the other occupants of 221B in the dark for the foreseeable. However, besides that - it was nice to just outright tell someone, without needing to keep secrets about it. He was so happy about this, underneath all the stress - it was nice to be congratulated on it, to see the jubilance in another's face about the news.
He was the one to knock on Ms. Pavlova's door. He had a key, of course, but it felt strange to simply enter the house - and besides, Pavlova herself might just be home, since she rather evidently wasn't with her suitor.
Pavlova opened the door, looking annoyed at first. "Naruhodo, did you forget-" she began, before noticing the man behind him.
He stepped to one side as she threw herself at the sailor, joyously yelling, "Tchikin! Oh, I'm so glad to see you!"
They hugged for a moment, the two happily laughing together, before Tchikin put her back down. "I'm so glad you finally had shore leave! But… wait, where's Bif?" She looked around the two, as though he would be easily hidden.
Tchikin grimaced, looking to him for assistance. He took an extra step backwards. He'd gladly leave this to Tchikin if possible.
"He is… guarding new crew member."
"Guarding? Is he likely to run away?"
"Well-" the sailor stalled, looking at him one more time for assistance. Ryunosuke shook his head, not wanting to break this particular bit of news.
The Russian sighed, putting one massive hand on Ms. Pavlova's shoulder. "Little angel… we were wrong about English boys."
She blinked at him, confused at the non-sequitur.
" English boys… They want 2 things: the same thing the Russian boys want. And money ."
She looked suspicious now. "Tchikin...?"
Tchikin turned to him again. "What was blackmailer's name? Rouslan? Roy-sea? Not seagull…"
"Royce. Royce Corney," he corrected.
Ms. Pavlova's eyes widened. "You don't mean-"
"Da, kotyata. Is true. Was blackmailing guest - he sent letters to Mr. Asogi, asking for money or would tell papers about baby."
"But- but Asogi, he never said-"
Ryunosuke piped up. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, Ms. Pavlova, but - I believe, all things considered, he may not have known he could trust you. You were rather close to Mr. Corney, after all. It’s reasonable that he would want to be certain before he said anything.”
"But Royce would not do this! He can be annoying, and he has been jealous about Mr. Asogi, but he wouldn't have! I'm certain you have no proof, you're just accusing him because- because-" she looked at Tchikin, and regained her train of thought. "Because you know about him and me and want it to stop!"
"Little angel…"
Ryunosuke sighed. He could understand this, the betrayal, the instinct to defend them from it. It was difficult, finding out that the one you loved had done something awful.
He closed the distance between them, offering her the letter. "Here. This is a draft of one of the two that he's already sent to Kazuma."
She took it from him quickly, then read it over. "This is just typewritten. Anyone could have-" she stopped herself. "That amount…" she trailed off, taking an abrupt seat on the stoop.
"Did he have some sort of debt?" Ryunosuke asked, prying but attempting to be careful about it.
"No. Well… He has been trying to get the money for that press for so long…" she fell silent again, looking away.
"Oh?" he asked, a quiet verbal prod.
"But that writing competition! He said that if he won he'd get the money for it."
He looked away, thinking on the prize money Sholmes had told him about. A few shillings and a thousand guineas had a rather wide gulf between them...
She gave a longer sigh, putting her head in her hands. She stayed like that a moment, the two men before her standing in an awkward silence. "You say you found this in his desk?"
"Yes, Ms. Pavlova. I'm sorry."
She sat for a moment, a few tears silently rolling down her face, before she scrubbed them away with the heel of her hand. "So, dyadya, you've…?"
Tchikin had nothing but sympathy in his eyes, looking down at Ms. Pavlova. "Taken him, da. Won't be danger to you or Mr. Asogi."
She stood, so abruptly that Tchikin had to stumble back so they didn't clock heads, and walked into the house.
The two of them exchanged a look, before awkwardly following her inside: Tchikin, wanting to talk to her further, and himself, off to find Kazuma in the house.
He was in the living room, as usual, but not reading - instead, his vision was fixed on the window, only moving away when Ryunosuke's footsteps announced his presence.
"So?" Kazuma said, looking anxious.
"You must've heard what we just told Ms. Pavlova?"
"Bits and pieces. Not enough to answer my question."
"He's… gone. The blackmailer. Mr. Corney, I mean."
"Gone..?"
"The sailors will ‘take care of him’, in whichever manner they mean that. I'm sure you saw Tchikin through the window, there."
"Yes, hard to miss him. But, are you-"
"They decided on it, not me. They argued that Pavlova might be in danger from it too, and, well…"
“I suppose that's for the best. Is Sholmes still around?"
"No, he left back to London. Avoiding the rather fraught conversation with Ms. Pavlova, I think."
"Ah. And how is Ms. Pavlova?"
"Taking it as well as could be expected, I suppose."
“Ah. Drinking, then.”
Ryunosuke chuckled, then sat next to his partner, finally relaxing. "It's terrible, but it's such a weight off my mind that he's gone."
"Mm, I can't say I feel differently." He reached over, petting Ryunosuke's hair. "Do you think you'll be able to sleep tonight? You sorely need it."
He chuckled again. "You're one to talk." Kazuma pet his hair a few more times before he answered. "... Yes, I think so. Honestly, I may be able to sleep now, provided our Russian hosts don't get too drunk."
Kazuma nodded. "Then rest, love. Any moral quandaries can be left until later."
"Hm. You're lucky I'm so tired, or my mind would run circles around that." Still, he moved until he was a bit more comfortable, head pillowed on one end of the couch and otherwise in a comfortable curl, and drifted off.